Under the proposal, the University of Kansas would see a 4 percent budget cut. (Flickr Photo by user Crazybananas)
A Kansas House committee has voted to eliminate around $30 million from the state's colleges and universities. That amounts to a 4 percent across-the-board funding cut for fiscal year 2014. Republican Ward Cassidy, from St. Francis, suggested the reduction. Earlier this week, the committee had voted to cut around $15 million from the Board of Regents budget. That proposal was replaced by Cassidy’s motion to cut $30 million, but let universities decide how to do it. He said that his proposal would help them balance the budget.
The top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, Jerry Henry from Atchison, said the cut would hurt job growth in Kansas and cause tuition increases.
The full House will now consider the funding cut as part of that chamber’s budget.